Electrical connecter



Jan. 5, 1932, M. ALBEN ELECTRICAL CONNECTER Original Filed Jan. 26, 1928 JNVENTOR, Milton A] en,

Patented Jan. 5, 1'932 UNITED srarrissA .PATENT OFFICE MILTON ALBEN, or maocx'roN, MAssAcHusEr'rs, AssIeNon rro RADIO INvEN'rIoNs,

INC., A CORPORATION or NEW YORK ELECTRICAL CONNECTER Griginal application led January y26, 1928, Serial No. 249,685. livided and this application led December 4, 1930. Serial' N0. 499,957. Y

My invention relates to radio receiving apparatus and particularly to what is sometimes termed adapters or converters.

One object is to provide a device of this character which is compact and reliable and capable of embodiment in various forms and arrangements.

Another object is to provide a construction for use with vacuum tubes having prongs which will facilitate the insertion of the prongs into the device.

Another object is to facilitate identification of the device and to indicate the type of tube which it is designed to receive.

Another object is to provide a device for the adaption of a ve pronged tube to a four prong socket.

Another object is to provide an adapter or socket construction capable of receiving a resistance which may be conveniently inserted in one or more Alines without the use of tools or binding posts.

Another object is to provide a construction which will facilitate the introduction of means for readily varying or controlling the regeneration in the-radio frequency circuit of a receiver. l I l Another object is to provide means for the conversion of a radio receiver designed to operate with vacuum tubes whose cathodes are heated by direct current to a type adapted to employ tubes whose cathodes are operated either directly orfindirectly from an alternating current source.

Another object is to provide a construction, the parts of which are'capable of being assembled in various dii'erent relations.

In the form shown the device consists of two parts, a base and a top, both formed of insulating material and secured together in a suitable manner, as for instance by a central stud or rivet.

The base part carries a number of projecting prongs adapted to be inserted in a socket of any usual type. Spring contacts may be secured to the inner ends of a number of these prongs dependingy on the purpose to which the device is to be put.v

The top part is provided with a number of passages arranged in line with the various contacts and adapted to receive the prongs of a tube to be connected in the circuit.

The top and base are also constructed to accommodate one or more connecters consisting of'an interior contact and an external circuit terminal for the connection of external elements into the system. One of the contact devices within the base consists of two parts adapted to be separated and per- Imt the insertion of an additional modifying or connecting element within the device.

.The top member is preferably provided with a directing and identifying groove which intersects the entrance ends of all the passages.

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of one form of device embodying my invention and showing a removable resistor in connection with one ofthe contacts.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the base member but omitting some of the contacts.

Fig. 3 shows the inside of the top member.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a resistor adapted to be inserted in the device; the scale being somewhat larger than that of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the parts of the resistor.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional viewv of the device of Fig. 1 but omitting the resistor. y

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one of the removable contact members.

Fig. 8 is a detail view of another form of contact.

The base 10 and thev top l1 are preferably formed of insulating material moulded to the desired shape and having flanges 12 andy 13 respectively, which overlap each other but are spaced apart somewhat. These two members may be conveniently secured together by a tubular rivet 14.

The base carries a number of prongs of the usual type such as l5, 16, 17 and 18 which project from the lower side."

Contact members such as 19 and 2() are secured to the upper ends of some `of the prongs, for instance to the prongsl and 16. The upper ends of other prongs may be insulated or cut off by a layer of insulating material such as 21.

' .for instance green foria five prong tube, or-

A connecter v22 has a spring contact .linger 23 at one end connected to it by a lU shaped portion 24 which is adapted to ft around the lower edgeof the ange 1 3 inside of the flange 12. toverlapplng flanges grip the connecter and hold it in place. The conl.necter hasan external terminal 25 of suit- Abase adapted to be located in a recess 31 where it is held by pressure betweenthe top and base members when they are secured together. vThis member 29 also has a spring tip 32 which, when the parts are'i'n the position shown in Fig. 6, engages the contact finger 19. y -The top member-11 is provided with a number of'passages such as 33, 34, 35 and 36 adapted to receivethe prongs of the tube to be used in the device. l

Thetop member is preferably provided with a groove 37 which rovides inner and.

outer annular shoulders or' accurately guiding the prongs of a tube to'be inserted. This greatly facilitates the insertion of the tube in the 'pro r position. element is of considerab e importance 'in modern radio set construction because of the compact arrangement of the parts of thek apparatus which makes .it diicult not only to see where the prong openings are but even very diicult to find theo Y The wa of these grooves are preferably colored accordingto some prearranged code,

ange for a power tube and red for other tubes. In fact these may be painted with phosphorescent or ot er luminous paint y tact members 19 and 32 to so as to facilitate finding the entrance tothe sockets even in the dark. A

The top member is also provided .witli'a slot or passage 38 in line with the ti acilitate the insertionof an member desired to be con.

nected with eit er or both of thesecontacts..

' The resistor may bei-constructed 'as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. 40 is a piece of/insulating material -on which is wounbth'e resistance wire 41 having terminals. 42\and 43. 0n either side of the form 40 is placed an insulating piece 44 and against these pieces are placed the metal parts 45, each having a singleV lug 46 on one extremity and a pair of lugs 47 on the 'other extremity. These lugs are bentlover as shown 'in Fig. 4 to hold the parts together and the lugs 46 engage the of the conbare ends 42 and 43 of the resistance wire and contact therewith so that each metal'plate 'forms a terminal for the resistor.

A resistor is adapted to be inserted between the contacts 19 and 32 so as to insert a resistance in the circuit to which the prong,

15 is connected, as for instance in the grid circuit.

If a resistor is not desired it may be re-4 moved, in which case the contacts 19 and 32 automatically engage each other and thus close the circuit.

It should be understood that a connecter such as 22 with the attached contact finger 23 may be used in any of the electrode circuits and that when it is used the corresponding prong ofthe adapter may be insulated or blanked from the circuit by insulation such as 21. It should also be understood that an external connecter might be inserted b'etween the contacts 19 and 32 if it is desired tot-ap the circuit at this point.,

The inclined spring contacts such as 20 and 23 are designed preferably so as to nor- 'mallybear on the tapered or inclined part 27 of the top member. These contacts bend 'not only at their tips'but along their whole lengths. When the tube prongs are inserted these contacts are bent outwardly so as to afford a maximum rfection of contact.

It will 'be obvious that the prongs may be inserted into the ordinary type of push sock# et but I have also rovided a pin 50 so that it may be used in t e ordinary type of bayo net slot socket.

It will be seen that the construction thusl far shown and described is capable of use in many di'erent ways, for instance such a construction permits the connection of an 'external source of current such as a 'micro- It is also' poible by such a device to insert a resistor such as shown in Fig. 4 and thus adequately control the cathode heating current of a tube in an already manufactured set where such set, was not rovided with such adequate control.' Ad itional resistance can be readily into the set without the em loyment of tools or external apy such a construction a control- Ezratus; y g resistance may be inserted into any circuit of a tube. y

The mechanical construction of the device is such that the various parts can be made according to standard specifications and-as-` sembled in various combinations and arrangements depending upon the use to which vthe device is to be put.

This application is a division from my application No. 249,685, filed January 26, 1928, in which parent application I have claimed the construction which involves the f connecter strip 22 clamped between the overlapping flanges such as 12 VYand 13 and havJ ing an interior spring Contact such as 23 and an external connection such as 22 and features related to such construction and combination.

I claim:

1. An electrical connecter comprising a base having projecting terminal prongs, a top member secured to said base and having passages for the reception of tube prongs, a contact member connected to one of the base prongs, a second contact membermounted adjacent thereto alongside of one of the passages in said top member and normally engaging the other contact member, said top having an aperture for the insertion and removal of a device through the top between the contact members.

2. An electrical connecter comprising insulating supporting means, a n umber of contacts mounted therein and having external circuit terminals, said insulating means being provided with passages to permit the insertion of the prongs of a tube, one of said contacts consisting of two parts adapted to resiliently engage one another, one of said parts being adjacent one of the passages to permit engagement by the prong of a tube, the other part being electrically connected to one of the external circuit terminals, said insulating means having an aperture to permit the insertion of a device between the two said parts.

3. An electrical connecter comprising a base member having external circuit terminals and internal contacts, a top member having passages to permit the introduction of tube prongs and having an internal chamber housing said contacts, said top member having inclined wallsv intersected by said passages, at least some of said contacts having inclined resilient tips biased toward said inclined walls and means for securing the top and base members together.

.4. An electrical connecter comprising an insulating base having an external circuit terminal, a top member `secured to said base and having a peripheral ange, a contact secured to-said external circuit terminal and having a portion located adjacent said flange, a resilient contact located alongside of and normally engaging said irst mentioned contact, said top having a passage alongside of said'resilient contact for the insertion of a tube prong and an aperture spaced apart from said passage to permit the insertion of a device between said contacts.

5. A tube connecter comprising insulating base and top members, said base having projecting prongs and said top member having passages for tube terminal pins, contact members mounted between said members in line with said passages, andV a contact connected to at least one of said prongs adjacent and normally biased toward one of said contact members, said top having a passage for the insertion of a resistance between the adjacent contact members.

6. An electrical connecter comprising an insulating base having external electrical terminals, an insulating top having an internal boss and a peripheral flange with a chamber`between the boss and fiange and having a number of passages for the prongs of a vacuum tube, inverted V-shaped spring members mounted in said chamber, each spring member having an outer arm supported adjacent the base and an inner contact arm extending `inclined across the inner end of one of the passages on the top to receive the prong of an inserted tube and means for securing the boss of the top to the base with the flange of the top surrounding the spring members adjacent the base. v

7 An adapter for vacuum tubes comprising two insulating members, one constituting a base and the other a top, one of which members has a flange with a chamber facing the other member, the top member having a prong passage, a pin terminal projecting from the base member, aspring contact in said chamber and having a foot connected to said pin terminal and having a resilient contact finger in line to be engaged by a prong inserted in said passage.

8. A connecter for vacuum tubes comprising two insulating members, one 'of which has two passages through its top, two contact members secured tothe other member with contact faces arranged in line to be engaged by devices inserted through the respective passages, at least one of said contact memers being resilient and engaging the other contact member and means for securing said members together.

9. An electrical connecter comprising two insulating members, one of which has passages for reception of tube prongs, a contact member having an arm clamped between said members and held solely thereby and having a resilient Contact portion disposed adjacent one of the passages to be engaged by aprong when inserted in the adjacent passage, said arm having an angular anchorage tip spaced laterally away from the contact portion, one of said members having a recess in which saidtip is anchored and means independent `of the contact members for holding the two insulating members together and clamping said arm between them.

10. A vacuum tube socket comprising upper and lower insulating members, the upper v ing members and'having a resilient Vspring contact extending in line to be engaged by a tube prong inserted throu h one of said'passages, said lower member iaving a recess ad- -acent said passage and said conductor mem` er having a positioninglug at its inner end bent at right angles to the arm and fitted in said recess and means for securing said upvper and lower insulating members together and holding said arm in place with its lug in said recess. v

p 11.V An electrical connecter' -for vacuum tubes having pron s comprisingvan insulating body formed o two parts, namely an upper part and a lower part, the upper part having a number of apertures to receive the inserted prongs of a tube, a conductor for each aperture, one conductor having an anchorage portion at its inner end and an external circuit terminal at its outer end with a laterally resilient contact portionbetweenthe inner and outer ends arranged alongside at least one edge of the adjacent aperture to be engaged by the inserted tube prong, the inner end of said conductor having a portion held between adjacent surfaces of the two parts of the body and a hook-like tip, y

one partlof the bodyhaving a recess into which said hook-like tip projects whereby the inner end of the conductor is held from.

movement.

MILTON ALDEN. 

